A smoking suitcase was spotted Tuesday in the cargo area at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, but did not contain explosives, airport officials said.

A baggage handler was loading bags on a US Airways plane about 10 a.m. when he noticed that one suitcase was hot and set it aside, according to a statement released by Sky Harbor authorities. The fire department was called when the bag began to smoke.

Passengers who were boarding San Antonio-bound Flight 200 were taken off the plane, and the gate area that they used to board was evacuated, said Julie Rodriguez, an airport spokeswoman.

Used to be, there was a time when a smoking suitcase didn't mean having to unload the plane and a full-scale search by the authorities. It might have been just an absent-minded packing job.